a meeting with aladin
is like being a king-cobra bewitched by the snake charmer's tune. fitting what's
happening before your eyes into an everyday explanation first becomes very difficult,
then less important, as you follow this contemporary pied piper in his wanderings
through the crowd, half hoping to disappear yourself.

entirely self-taught,
aladin is one of only two Golden Turban members of the Magic Academy of Bangalore,
India, guardians of the world's oldest magic tradition. he is also a former
International Magician of the Year and has been a Selected Artist at the National
Review of Live Arts U.K.. aladin's ventures in entertainment include being
commissioned by private clients in Las Vegas and Monte Carlo as well as in
London (Hurlingham Club, Sanderson Hotel, Peacock House etc.), opening onstage
for artists ranging from Paul Weller to Mark E. Smith, and as Master of Ceremonies
and co-organiser of the world's biggest magic event (800 magicians from around
the world converging on the city of Bangalore). several British and international
television channels have projects currently in development involving aladin
as a principal.

in his work,
including his capacity as "London's official alkhemist", aladin
resonates with some of the oldest known traditions of dealing with unseens.
eschewing the stage glam of popular illusionists aladin remains true to his
foundations as a social alkhemist. "I respond to how people are feeling,"
he says. "I don't just do tricks for them."

aladin works
across the medium of magic. In conventional terms his methodology includes
close-up, manipulation, stage illusions, stand-up and mentalism but the most
important aspect of his magic is 'why?'.

"Do I have
something to 'say' in the context of where I am meant to be performing? I'm
not into going into a 'muscle-building convention' situation where you just
go in for the audience to 'ooh!' and 'ahh!' over your physique; in other words
I can't just bring myself to 'do tricks' to impress. You wouldn't ask a painter
to go off and impress you with two colours and a brush."

aladin knew he
would be a magician at two and a half years old, when his father vanished
his favourite toys into a ceiling light at their home. this was by way of
encouraging the young aladin to follow the example of the assorted objects
and go to bed!

chasing magic
in restaurants, on T.V., in the circus and through wonderful storytellers,
he was in his mother's hometown of Dhubri in the north-eastern Indian state
of Assam when one of his young uncles crushed paper tissues into fist-sized
balls and got them to vanish from his hands. during his next visit to India
the uncle showed him how he did the illusion and from that point on aladin
embarked on the course of an alkhemist and magician.

aladin was drawn
to the way magicians he saw performed with real grace, humility and generosity.
"even though i was a child i felt i was being included and listened to
when they were performing," he says. watching street magicians in India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh, aladin was absorbed by the quality of communication
used by these entertainers. "these entertainers were [and are] at the
bottom of the social pecking order in a region where class status is a very
big deal with real practical consequences. so these magicians didn't have
respectful, pliant audiences but ones who were really challenging - grabbing
at props, standing behind, being subversive and unruly when invited to assist.
in these conditions the magic had to be very real to come across - which it
absolutely was.

"thinking
back, there was also an incredible poetry and dignity about the really rather
fragile existence of these quite homeless, itinerant and often unappreciated
artists. i've never been in that kind of struggle but i always hold those
early memories and impressions close to me - it's a kind of touchstone for
how my magic develops."

as a person trying
to connect with deeper issues, aladin always seeks to marry an authentic interest
in real and metaphorical audiences into his magic. reciprocity, exploration,
equality, a sense of something shared are the key aspects of the aladin experience.

"i don't
want the way i do my magic to create barriers between myself and others or
to enhance my status. actually, that's my fundamental problem with so much
of what passes for 'popular' entertainment - this business of accentuating
the inequality between performer and audience; it's unnecessary and ultimately
limits the aesthetic value of what we do - we become unwilling to take risks
for fear of falling flat on our face."